Circuit-restoring relay



C. W. KAUTZ, JK.

CIRCUIT RESTOHING RELAY.

APPLICATION HLED 1AN.21.1919.

Patentd Apr. 19, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- C. W. KAUTZ, JR. CIRCUIT RESTORING RELAY. APPLICATION FILED IAN. 27. 1919.

1,375,518. Pand Apr. 19,1921.

awww/dwz www PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. KAUTZ, JR., OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

CIRCUIT-RESTORING RELAY.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 19, 1921.

Application filed January 27, 1919. Serial No. 273,346.

To all @0.7mm t may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES `W. KAUTZ, Jr., a citizen or' the United States. residing at Lancaster', in the county of Lancaster' and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Circuitllestoring Relays, of which the following is a speciication.

rThis invention relates to means for restoring a line in an electric power system when, by reason of a momentary short circuit, (such as may result from a. variety of causes, as, tor example, a lightning discharge, a fallen limb across the line for a short duration, ybridging ot' the wires by a buzzard or other bird of a wide spread of wings,) the line is interfered with suiiiciently to effect, through an overload or cutout relay, or a similar protective device, the operation of a. main switch or circuitbrealer in the line, and thereby kill the line although no serious and continued trouble exists. I

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a restoring means of this type which will permit a predetermined number of automatic restorations of the main'switch, such as an automatic oil switch having a remote control, so that in event the cause for the short-circuit still exists after the iirst or any one of the successive restorations of the line, .(in which instance the cut-out protective device would again kill the line,) the line will again be restored; and it the trouble on the circuit has cleared after any one of the predetermined number of restorations,v the main switch will re- Vmain closed and the load on the circuit uninterrupted, By repeatedly restoring the line. the total -period of successive restorations covers a su'licient length of time to insure the line being restored to and maintained in service, provided the trouble is not serious or continued, and the line would not be thrown out of service for an extended period. The construction of my improved restoring` device is suchA that the restorations secured thereby is limited to a predetermined number so that in the event the trouble inthe line is of long duration and due to some serious cause, the device will not operate delinitely causing the short-circuit to result in serious damage.

The present invention contemplatesl a restoring relayv which is simple and compact in structure, all ot the parts being brought together in a single unit; which may be used on either direct or alternating current or' any standard control voltage; which may be readilyregulated to time the re-closing of the line after the protective device has killed the line so as to insure that any shortcircuit are which may result from the trouble in the line is extinguished; and Which, after it has been actuated, may be manually reset without interfering in any way with the operation of the system inl which it is incorporated.

The present invention further resides in a system of wiring in which my improved restoring devices comprises a component part.

As hereinafter described more in detail, my improved line reclosing or restoring device is particularly adapted for use in a system wherein the main switch for throwing a line or feeder into and out of operation has remote control means, such as a control switch, and a` protective device is associated with the main switch in such a manner as to open the same when a short circuit occurs in the line.

The above and other objects of my invention are obtained in the structure or' my improved restoring` device, and in the system of wiring described in the following speciiication, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevational view of my improved restoring device or relay;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view taken on a plane at right angles of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the relay;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view showing in detail the mechanism which permits a predetermined number of actuations of the device; and

Fig. is a diagrammatical view of a system of wiring in which my restoring` means is used.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views, 10 designates the solenoid casing pf my restoring device, and within this casing is housed a solenoid or coil 11 having a core or armature l2 adapted to move upwardly upon energization of the coil, and downwardly under the influence ot gravity when the coil is denergized. Spaced above and secured to the top of the casing l() by screws 13 passing through bushings 14, is a block l5 of ring-like shape constud 1S to bring the contact block 22 against stru; ted of suitable insulating material, such as hard rubber, or the like. Arising from one side ot the ring 15 is a stationary arm 16 having its upper end bent laterally to Ptorni a contact with which a movable contact block 22 is adapte-d to engage. Attached to the ring 15 on the side opposite that ol the arm 16, is a plate 17, having an inwardly extending stud 18 on which is pivoted a movable contact arm 19 of substantially L-shape. rlhe upper end ot' the core l2 of the solenoid carries a rod 2O having a member 21 of insulating material against which the horizontal leg et the Contact arm 19 engages so that when, upon energization ot' the coil ll, the core l2 is drawn upwardly, the contact arm 19 will be swung about the the arm 16 to thereby close the s *itch and cause energization of the solenoid of the automatic main switch, as hereinafter described.

For the purpose ot delaying the operation of the restoring device until the potential in the line has been reduced, so as to insure that the are, which may result from the short-circuit, is extinguished before restoration oit the line, the contact arm 19 is associated with a dashpot 23 which Jr'orces the arm 19 to slowly move into Contact with arm 1G upon energization of the coil 11. This dashpot may be ot any suitable t-onstr ction, that shown in the drawings, since it is by way ot' illustration only, being of an old and well known type. The dashpot is shown as having a cylinder 24 secured to an arm 25 carried by the ring 15, and a plunger or piston 2G fitting' snugly within the cylinder 24 and connected to the tree end ot' contact arm 19. rhe closed end of the cylinder has a port 27 provided at its inner end with a valve seat with which a ball valve is adapted to cooperate in such manner that as the piston is drawn from the cylinder the valve will be sucked against its seat to prevent the entrance or" air through the port 27, and when the piston is forced inwardly Ot the cylinder 24, the air behind the piston may readily exhaust through the port 27.

Upon the stud 1S is a coiled spring 29, one end oit which is secured to the contact arm 19, the spring' leing so disposed that upon denergization et solenoid 11, it will cause the contact arm to swing away from the arm 16, orei the plunger 26 into the dashpot and aiding the torce ot' gravity in lowering the core 12 of the solenoid.

To permit a predetermined number ot restorations ot' the main switch in the shortcircuited line, my restoration device is provided with means now to be described. Secured to the ring l5 rearwardly ot the contact arm 16, are a pair of metallic brackets 30 in which is journaleu a shaft carrying a wheel 31, hereinafter referred to as the counteiz This counter is of liber or other insulating` material, and is divided longitudinally into two sections A and B. Upon the periphery of" section A is a contact strip 32 electrically connected to the sha it 33 by a screw 34. section A of the counter' has a plurality ot' teeth 35, and while in the present instance these teeth are two in number, so that there may be two and no more restorations of the short-circuited line, the number ot these teeth may be varied to obtain any desired number of automatic restorations. The other section B of the wheel or counter 31 has a like number ol ratchet teeth 36, but these teeth are disposed somewhat iorwardly ot' the ends of the teeth as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The numeral 37 designates a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on a threaded rod 23,8 carried by the arm 16. The lower end of this lever is connected by means ot a link 39 to lthe contact arm 19. Also pivotally connected to the lower end of the lever 37 is a. pawl 40 which rides upon the periphery ot section B of the wheel 31, and coacts with the teeth 36. Pivoted to the upper end ot' the lever 3T is a second pawl 41, which pawl 41 has an insulating block 42 to prevent electrical connection with the strip 32, and rides over the strip 32 and coacts with the ratchet teeth 35. A spring resiliently maintains the lree end of the pawl 41 against the periphery oi the wheel 31. Coacting with the contact strip 32 is a brush 44 comprising a spring linger secured, by screws 45, to the periphery oi the ring 15.

Currentis led into my improved restoring device by means of wire 4G leading to the terminal contact or screw 4T carried by the metallic member 17. A wire 48 leads -from the screw 47 to one of the screws 45, which secures the brush 44 to the ring 15. One end 11 of the wire forming the coil 11 is electrically connected to one of the brackets 30, and the other end 11b of the coil 11 may be provided with a hook 49 to which may be connected a variableresistance.. Leading from the contact arm 16 is a wire 50 whicri, as will be described, leads to the wire in which `the closing coil of the automatic switch is incorporated.

The operation of my improved relay is as, follows: The counter 31 is normally in the position shown in Fig. 1, in which position the brush 44 is in Contact with the forward end of the contact strip 32, and the pawl 4l) is in engagement with the 'forward or lirst tooth 36 of section B of thc wheel or counter 31. When the circuit in which the coil ll is in series is closed, current passes through the wire 46, screw 47, wire 4S, brush 44, contact strip 32, screw 34, bracket 30, and through the coil 11. Upon energization of the coil 11, this coil being energized as hercinafter described, when the remote main switch is opened, due to a short circuit, the core 12 will be drawn upwardly causing the arm 19 to swing around its pivot and bring the contact block 22 into engagement with the arm 16, whereupon current will pass through the wire L16, block 1'?, arm 19, block 22, arm A16, and out through the wire 50, so as to energize the closing coil 55 of the solenoid of the automatic switch to close such switch. W hen the arm 19 is swung upwardly about its pivot, the pawl 110 is moved in a direction to cause a pa 1tial rotation ot the wheel 31, and the pawl L11 is moved in the opposite direction to bring the end thereof into engagement with the forward tooth of section A of the wheel 31, as shown in TEig. 4. Upon denergization ot the coil 11, the arm 19, under the inlluence ot the spring 29, moves to its normal position, shown in Fig. 1, and this movement will cause the pawl el to move forwardly to rotate the wheel suiliciently to bring the second tooth 36 into position where the pawl 4:0 will coact therewith. 1When the coil 11 is again energized the arm 19 is raised, the pawl 40, coacting with the second tooth 36, will partially rotate the wheel 31, and the pawl d1 will be brought into engagement with the second tooth 35. Upon a second de'e'nergization of the coil the arm 19 will swing downwardly, causing the pawl 11 to rotate the wheel 31 through an angle permitting the contact strip 32 to be moved out ot contact with the brush 14, and thereafter the coil 11 cannot again be energized for the reason that the circuit is broken since the brush ed is in l,engagement with the nonconducting body portion of the wheel 31. lt will be seen that with the system o pawls above described, in the last operation oil which the devicey is capable, the pawl Ll1 will give a partial rotation to, the wheel 31, and the construction is such that this final movement'is eected when the contact block 22 is thrown out of engagement with the arm 16, and after this movement is eiiected the contact strip 32 is out of engagement with the brush le so" that the device cannot again operate until it is manually reset by rotating the counter 31 to bring the strip into engagement with the brush de.

The number of restorations of the line may be controlled by adjusting the counter 31. For instance, where the counter has two teeth, as disclosed in the present drawings, and it is desired that my reclosing relay make but a single restoration the line short-circuited, the counter may be set manually so that the pawl 40 is in engagement with the second tooth 36 instead ot' with the iirst tooth, and then after the restoring device is operated once and the cutout or overload relay has again killed the line, there are no further restorations. As heretofore stated, the number olf times that the restoring device will operate, depends upon the number of teeth, and this number may be increased as desired.

l will now describe the system ot wiring of which my improved restoring relay is a part, but it is to be distinctly understood that while the incorporation of my restoring device in the present system ot wiring forms a new and novel combination olf elements to which l lay claim, my improved restoring device or relay may be used in other systems than that herein disclosed, and the restoring device being novel per sc, some olf the appended claims are drawn thereto.

rlhe numeral 51 designates a positive con-- trol bus; 52 the negative bus, and 53 a manually operable control switch by means of which the automatic switch or circuitbreaker, placed at a somewhat remote point, is opened and closed. ln the present drawings trip coil 54, a closing coil 55 of solenoid, and a pilot switch 56 of a remote controlled automatic oil switch are shown, these parts of the main switch being illustrated diagrammatically, the remaining portion not being illustrated as this type of switch is old and well known in the art. The control switch 53 may be of any suitable type, and as w1 make no claim thereto per 8c, the same is illustrated more or less diagrammatically. Leading from the control switch 53 through the closing coil 55 to a wire 5T connected to the negative bus 52 is a wire 57. The control switch 53 is connected to the positive bus 51, as shown. The trip coil 54 is in a line 58 leading` from the control switch 53 and having a red light 59 which is lighted when the automatic oil switch is closed to indicate that the line is in service. The pilot switch 56 is connected to the negative bus by means of the wires and 57', and thispilot switch, when in its normal positionf-that'is, in the position shown in i'ull lines, `Fig. 5,-places the trip coil 54: in the line 5S. When the pilot switch is in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5, which position it assumes when the main switch is open, current is closed through wire 60 which leads to the controlswitch, and in which is placed a green light 61, the green light indicating that the line is out ot service. rlhe numeral 62 indicates the protective device, the same being shown conventionally as it may be any standard cut-out relay which will operate upon an overload in the line to be protected. The contacts of the cutout relay are respectively connected to the positive bus 51 and the red light lines 58 by means of the wires 63 and @l-.-

rllhe solenoid 11 oi my improved restoring relay is connected between the positive control bus 51 and the green light line GO; and the contact blocks 22 on the arm 19 and the contact 16 are connected between the positive bus and the closing coil wire 57. The xed switch contact 16 is connected to the return wire 5T by the wire 50, and the movable contact arm 22 is connected to the control bus 5l by the wire elli. The wire 48 ot the solenoid il is connected to a variable resistance with which a contact lever GG, connected to the wire 6T leading to the green-light line, is adapted to cooperate.

The operation of my improved restoring device in the system in which it is incorporated, is as l'ollows: Assuming that the line is to be thrown into circuit, the control switch 53 is operated to send a current through the closing coil ot the automatic oil switch., whereupon this switch will close and the line will be thrown into operation.

he trip (not shown), controlled by the trip coil 5l, maintains the main switch in closed position. Upon a short circuit oit the line the resultant overload will operate the cutoli' relay (32 to close the contacts thereof, and thereupon current will iiow through trip coil 54, energizing the same to actuate the trip which permits the automatic oil switch to open thus killing the line. lWhen the main switch is opened, the pilot switch 5G will be actuated, breaking the circuit through the trip coil and making a circuit pass through the wire 60. Thereupon the green light (il will momentarily light to indicate that the line is out of circuit, and current, as soon as the potential in the line has been reduced will pass through the coil ll to en-` ergize the same and raise the core l2 to bring contact member 22 into engagement with contact arm 1G, resulting in a tlow ot' current by means of the wire alti, the contacts 22 and 16 ot the relay, the wire 50 and the wire 57, through the closing coil 55 which, upon energization will automatically close the oil switch and restore the line.

The variable resistance 65 which may be supplied with either direct or alternating current control voltage, is used to lower the `voltage that is supplied to the coil ot' the restoring relay, in order that, the relay will not close the circuit to the closing coil ot' the main remote controlled oil switch until, the contacts ot the oil switch have opened tar enough to extinguish the existing short circuit are, this setting ot' the restoring relay being determined at the time of installation to meet the demands of the particular service in which it is installed. There the dashpot 23 is employed, which dashpot serves the same purpose as the variable res tance, the latter may be dispensed with, but preferably, to insure proper operation, both the resistance and the dashpotare employed. It the source ot' trouble has bee removed, the main switch will remain closed with the line in service, but should the source of trouble not be removed, the eut-out relay will again be automatically actuated to energize the trip coil 54, and thus open the main switch. The pilot switch is thereupon actuated to close the circuit through the coil 11 and the restoring device will then operate to cause energization of the closing coil 55 and the resultant closing of the main switch. The cut-out relay and the restoring device will alternately kill and restore the line until the trouole has been cleared, or, the trouble being ot relatively long duration, until the restoring device, depending on the number ot' teeth on the counter 3l and the setting ot this counter, has been actuated the predetermined number ot' times, whereupon the cutoitl` relay will again and iinally kill the line.

lt is` ot course, obvious that my invention is susceptible oi'l various modification and changes which would be within the spirit otl my conception without departing from the scope ot the lollowing claims, and that while Aave shown a pret-erred embodiment, this closure is by way of illustration only and i' vnot restrictive thereof.

aving thus described at l claim is: A circuit restoring device switch contacts, a coil adapted when energized to close the contacts, and means in series with the coil and actuated by one ot' the contacts ior permitting a predetermined number ot' actuations et' the device.

my invention,

i. circuit restoring device having switch contacts, a solenoid tor closing the contacts, and means for determining the number oil actu-ations ot the device, said iii-cans coi'nprising a rotatable counter havii a contact element tor completing the circuit through the coil of the solenoid, and mechanism actuated by one ol' thc contacts and coacting with the counter to move the latter after a predetermined number of actuations of the contacts to a position where the contact element is out of circuit.

A circuit restoring device having a solenoid, switch contacts adapted to be closed thereby, and means determining the number ot actuations oi" the device, said means com )rising a wheel having a contact strip adapted to complete the circuit through the coil ot the solenoid, and pawls actuated by the movement ot one of the contacts and coacting with the wheel to rotate the latter, said pawls being so disposed that the wheel is' given lartial rotations upon both the closing and the opening movements ot the contacts, the final movement of the wheel breaking the solenoid circuit when no current is flowing therein.

Ll. A circuit restoring device having a solenoid, switch contacts closed by the l when the latter is energized, and

solenoid m 1an controlling the number oi actuations the device, said means comprising a. counter having two series ot teeth and a contact strip for completing the circuit through the coil of the solenoid, and a pawl having for each series of teeth and actuated upon movement of one of the contacts, one ot said pawls rotating the counter upon a closing movement ot the contacts, and the other upon an opening movement oi the contacts, the contact strip breaking the circuit with the final opening movement ot the contacts.

' 5. `circuit restoring device having switch contacts, a solenoid for closing such contacts, and means controlling the number of actuations of the device, said means come prising a wheel having two series of teeth and a strip adapted to complete the circuit through Vthe coil of the solenoid, the teeth of one series being spaced slightly Alorwardly of the corresponding teeth ot the other series, a Vlever pivoted intermediate its ends, a link connecting` one end of the lever to one of the contacts, a pawl connected to the lower end of the lever and co acting with the teeth of the iirstmentioned series, and a pawl connected with the other end of the leverl and coacting with the teeth of the second series, said pawls being so disposed that upon the last actuation of the device the last mentioned pawl will move the contact strip out of circuit.

6. A circuit restoring device having switch contacts, a solenoid for closing said contacts, means for retarding the closing movement or'l said contacts, and means controlling the number of actuations of the device.

7. A circuit restoring device having a pair of contact members one of which is iixed and one movable, a solenoid, a plunger therefor engaging the movable contact member to move it into contact with the fixed contact member when the solenoid is i energized, means for retarding such movement, means for restoring the said moving parts when the solenoid is denergized, and means for breaking the circuit through the solenoid attera predetermined number of actuations of the device.

8. A circuit restoring device comprising a switch normally open, a solenoid arranged to close said switch when energized, and

brush and strip Vbeing in series with the solenoid and breaking the vsolenoid circuit upon the final openingV movement of the switch.

9. In combination, a trip coil, closing coil, and pilot switch of a main switch; a protective device associated with the trip coil and adapted to actuate the saine to open the main switch Vwhen an overload occurs in the line of the main switch; and a restoring device having a solenoid adapted to be actuated upon energization et the trip coil, and contacts closed upon energia-ation of the solenoid and in series with the closing coil of the main switch.

lO. ln combination, a trip coil, closing coil, and pilot switch of a main switch; a protective device associated with the trip coil and adapted to actuate the same to open the main switch when an overload occurs in 1die line of the main switch; and a restoring device having a solenoid adapted to be actuated upon energization of the trip coil, contacts closed upon energization of the solenoid and in series with the closing coil ot the main switch, and a variable resistance in series with the coil of the solenoid for delaying the closure of the contacts until the current oie the line has substantially reached zero.

1l. ln combination, a trip coil, closing coil, and pilot switch of a main switch a protective device associated with the trip coil and adapted to actuate the same to open the main switch when an overload ocurs in the line of the switch; and a restoring device having a solenoid adapted to be actuated upon energization of the trip coil, contacts closed upon energization of the solenoid and in series with the closing coilof the main switch, and means controlling the number of times the solenoid is energized.

l2. ln combination, a trip coil, closing coil, and pilot switch of a main switch; a protective device associated with the trip coil and adapted to actuate the same to open the main switch when an overload ocurs in the line of the main switch; and a restoring device having a solenoid adapted to be actuated .upon energization of the trip coil, contacts closed upon energization of the solenoid and in series with the closing coil of the main switch, and means in series with said solenoid and actuated by the movements of the contacts ior controlling the number of restorations of the line.

13. ln combination, a remote controlled switch having a closing coil, trip coil, and pilot switch; a remote control switch; a red light line leading from the control switch to the trip coil; a green light line leading from the control switch to the pilot switch; a line leading from the control switch to the closing coil; a positive and a negative control bus; a protective device having contacts connected to the positive bus and red light line; and a circuit restoring device having a coil connected between the green light line and positive bus, and a switch between the positive bus and the line leading to the closing-coil and actuated by said last mentioned coil.

14. ln combination, a remote controlled switch having a closing coil, trip Coil7 and pilot switch; it remote Control switch; a red light line leading from the control switch to the trip coil; a green light line leading from the control switch to the pilot switch, :i positive and e negative control bus; a protective device having contacts Connected to the positive bus and red light line; and a circuit restoring device having :L relay eoil 10 Connected between the green light line and positive bus, fontaet members actuated by said relay coil und connected to the positive bus and the line leading to the closing coil, and means in series with the relay coil and actuated by the Contact members `lor controlling Ythe number of restorations of the line.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES lV. KAUTZ, JR. 

